Means for displaying pictures are well known in the art. A readily recognized example of such display means is the wood bordered frame having a thin glass front pane, a paper picture border and a paper backing sheet. The disadvantages of this type of display frame are that first the frame is fragile, and second that the displayed picture is not protected from moisture and is sometimes exposed to airborne contaminants.
Alternative means have been devised which protect the picture better than the wooden frame. Examples of such alternative means are found in previously issued patents. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,442,041, a photograph is permanently mounted by inserting a photograph between two halves of a transparent plastic sheet coated with pressure-sensitive adhesive and folded in the middle. The photograph becomes adhesively sealed at both its front and reverse faces to the plastic, the folded plastic being larger in both dimensions than the photograph. However, the sealed photograph is not suitable for hanging, and the manner of sealing leaves the photograph irreversibly bound between the plastic halves. U.S. Pat. No. 3,505,140 describes a unit for protecting card-like articles wherein the article is placed between two transparent plastic sheets coated with adhesive and joined by a hinge. However, the article after being fixed between the plastic sheets again becomes irreversibly bound. Also, the sealed article is not in a condition suitable for hanging. U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,833 describes a laminated frame assembly wherein the front face of an indicia-bearing sheet is bonded to an adhesive-coated face of a flexible plastic sheet. The plastic sheet contains a framing means to outline a border around the sheet being displayed. The sheet being displaying may be protected by utilization of a polymeric substrate. However, the displayed sheet must need appear through a flexible plastic face, and the displayed sheet is irreversibly bonded to the flexible plastic.
The invention as hereinafter described has as an object the ability to display photographs, drawings, documents and the like behind an aesthetically pleasing, light-transmissive rigid plate in a manner which protects the displayed object from contact with water. This feature permits display of photographs, drawings, documents and the like in places not normally considered amenable for displaying purposes.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a waterproof display means which permits removal of the displayed object from the display means without causing damage to the displayed object.
It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a waterproof aesthetic display means at a reasonable cost.
These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more readily apparent upon review of the following descriptions and diagrams.